Bosworth Toller's

Anglo-Saxon

Dictionary online

Æ

Grammar
Æ, The short or unaccented Anglo-Saxon æ has a sound like ai in main and f
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The ǽ is found in the following words, which are represented by English terms of the same signification, having ea sounded as in deal, fear; Dǽl, fǽr, drǽd, lǽdan, brǽdo, hǽto, hwǽte, hǽþ, hǽðen, clǽne, lǽne, sǽ, ǽr, hǽlan, lǽran, tǽcan, tǽsan, tǽsel,

DÆG

(n.)
Grammar
DÆG, gen. dæges; pl. nom. acc. dagas; m: daga, an; m.

DAY dies the time of a man's life tempus vitæ humanæ the Anglo-Saxon Rune RUNE = the letter d, the name of which letter in Anglo-Saxon is dæg a day; hence this Rune not only stands for the letter d, but for dæg a day, as,- RUNE byþ Drihtnes sond, deóre mannum day is the Lord's messenger, dear to men

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Thes. vol. i. p. 135; Runic pm. 24; Kmbl. 344, 9. the daily service of the early English church is recorded, referring to the example of the Psalmist, thus,-Dauid cwæþ seofon síðon on dæg ic sang ðé, Drihten, to lofe,-Ðæt is Ǽrst on ǽrne morgen; — Eft

híwisc

Grammar
híwisc, l. híwisce, híwisc. For suffix cf. ídisc(e).

a familyhouse

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See Andrews' Old English Manor. p. 167, n. 2: Seebohm, Vill. Com. s. v.: Sax. Eng. i. 92]. Similar entries v. híw-scipe; Æt Bitelanwyrthe án híwisce, and æt Brómleáge án híwisce, C. D. B. iii. 133, 18. In loco qui dicitur heregeardingchíwisce, C.

on-ginnan

(v.)
Grammar
on-ginnan, p. -gan, -gann; pl. -gunnon; pp. -gunnen.

to begin, set about, set to workto attempt, endeavour (with infin.)to act strenuouslyto make an attempt upon, to attack

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Ðá ongan ic ða bóc wendan on Englisc, Past. pref.; Swt. 7, 17. Ðú ðe ongunne ( coepisti ) ætýwan ðíne mǽrþe, Deut. 3, 24. Se ongan ǽrest onclypian Drihtnes naman, Gen. 4, 26. Ongan se Hǽlend bodian, Mt. Kmbl. 4, 17.

god-spell

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Lbmn. 415, 5. (1 c) the (Latin) text of a gospel :-- Ic cweðe nú þæt ic nǽfre heononforð ne áwende godspel of Lédene on Englisc, Hml.

stæf

(n.)
Grammar
stæf, es; m.

a staffsticka written charactera letterthe old letters having been carved on stavesa mark in writinga letter as representing a minute detaila collection of written symbolsa letterwriting lettersbook-learningliteraturean element, a rudimentbaculus, virga, regulaa staff, post; a letterlearning

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Germ. buch-stabe Littera is stæf on Englisc, and is se læsta dǽl on bócum ...

Linked entries: stafa stæf-cræft

dulmúnus

(n.)
Grammar
dulmúnus, gen. pl. dulmúna; m. The war-ship of the Greeks, which king Alfred assures us would hold a thousand men; longa nāvis. These ships were the μακρὰ πλοῖα or νῆες μακραί, generally called in Greek ὁ δρόμων, ωνος, m. the light war-vessel of the Greeks. They were the longæ nāves the long war-ships of the Romans, which had often more than fifty rowers. The Romans called their vessel drŏmo, ōnis, defining it as a fast rowing vessel, evidently deriving their word from the Greek δρόμων, Cod. Just. 1, 27, 1, § 8; Cassiod. Var. 5, 17, init. where it is described as 'trĭrēme vehĭcŭlum rēmōrum tantum nŭmĕrum prōdens, sed hŏmĭnum făcies dīlĭgenter abscondens.' Some suppose that Alfred derived his word dulmúnus from the Icel. drómundr, m. which Egilsson, in his Lexĭcon Poëtĭcum, Hafniæ, 8vo. 1860, explains 'nāves grandior, cūjus gĕnĕris tantum extra regiōnes septemtrionāles, ut in mări mediterrāneo, mentio fit,' S.E. i. 582, 3, Orkn. 82, 1, 3. Vigfusson, in his Icelandic-English Dictionary, 4to. Oxford, 1869-1874, in drómundr gives only the Latin and Greek, and O. H. Ger. drahemond as cognates. What Orosius, calls longas nāves, Alfred translates dulmúnus in Anglo-Saxon. As we read in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of A.D. 897; Th. i. 174, 4, Hét Ælfréd cyng timþrian lang-scipu ongén ða æscas king Alfred commanded to build long-ships against-, those ships, v. ÆSC IV.-Alfred, in his translation of Orosius, says
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Ǽr he [Ercol] ongan mid Creáca scypum, ðe mon dulmúnus hǽt, ðe man segþ ðæt in scip mǽge in þúsend manna before he [Hercules] began with Grecian ships, which are called dulmunus, of which it is said that one ship can hold a thousand men, Ors. 1, 10; Bos

ge-bígan

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Englisce menn ꝥ land gebégdan þan kyninge tó handan, Chr. 1074; P. 209, 20. þæt hí mé gebýgen oð eorðan, Ps.

HWÍL

(n.)
Grammar
HWÍL, e; f.

A WHILE

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Ðá besæt sió fierd hie ðǽr útan ða hwíle ðe hie ðǽr lengest mete hæfdon the English force besieged the Danes there as long as ever they had provisions there, Chr. 894; Erl. 90, 29.

rand

(n.)
Grammar
rand, es; m.
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[Cf. later English rand border, strip, slice :-- Raweȝ and randeȝ, Allit. Pms, 4, 105. Randes of bakun, Piers P. Crede 763. Rand a narrow stripe, Jameson. Rand the edge of the upper leather, a seam of a shoe, Bailey.

Linked entry: rand-beáh

steáp

(adj.)
Grammar
steáp, adj.
Entry preview:

In later English steap applied to the eyes or to gems seems to have this meaning. 'Twa ehnen steappre þene steorren an þene ȝimstanes' Marh.9, 4. In the note on this passage Cockayne gives other instances of this use, e.g.

Róm-feoh

(n.)
Grammar
Róm-feoh, gen. -feós; n.

Peter's pence

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The Chronicle several times during Alfred's reign contains the notice that 'Wesseaxna ælmessan' were sent to Rome, but the first notice in the laws of Rómfeoh occurs in the agreement between English and Danes, to which his son Edward was a party : 'Gif

(int.)

LoOhAh

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Áfæst lá and hí lá hí and wel lá well and ðyllíce óðre syndon englisc interjectiones, Ælfc. Gr. 48; Som. 49, 28. Weg lá weg lá euge, euge, Ps. Th. 69, 4. Wá lá se tówyrpþ ðæt tempel ua qui destruit templum, Mk. Skt. 15, 29.

færeld

(n.)
Grammar
færeld, (n. and) m.

goingwalkinga goingcoursejourneya wayroadthe runcarriagevehicle a trainretinuecourseproceeding

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Se líchoma dǽm móde wiernð his unnyttan færelta, Past. 257, 9. referring to the Passover Pascha is on Léden transitus, and on Englisc færeld; for ðan on ðisum dæge férde Godes folc ofer ðá Reádan sǽ, Hml. Th. ii. 282, 15

ge-nemnan

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Þá syndan huntigystran genemde, Nar. 38, 3. of a thing Ic forléto ðá boec ðá from Lucianus and Hesichio genemnedo praetermitto eos codices quos a Luciano et Hesychio nuncupatos, Mt. p. 2, 10. (2 a) of the title of a book :-- Ðá bóc ðe is genemned on Englisc

þeów

(n.)
Grammar
þeów, es; þeówa, an; m.
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. ¶ Slavery, which is mentioned by Tacitus (Germania, cc. 24, 25) as existing among the Germans, is recognized by the earliest English laws, and early traces ofit are to be found in the English slaves whom Gregory saw at Rome.

sceacan

(v.)
Grammar
sceacan, scacan; sceóc, scóc; sceacen, scacen, scæcen.

to shake (intrans.), quiverto flee, hurry off, go forthto move quickly, to be flung, be displaced by shakingto pass, proceed, departto shake (trans.)to weave

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colloquial shackto rove about) Ðá sceóc hé on niht fram ðære fyrde him sylfum tó myclum bysmore he fled at night from the English army to his great disgrace, Chr. 992; Erl. 130, 32.

scír

(n.)
Grammar
scír, e ; f.
Entry preview:

Surt. 70, 15. a. where the term refers to an English official Se ðe þeóf geféhþ . . . and hé hine ðonne álǽcte . . . gif hé ealdormon sié, þolie his scíre, L.

Linked entry: scýr

wana

(n.; adj.)
Grammar
wana, adj. generally indeclinable. I.
Entry preview:

As appears especially in the first of the following passages, the word and the numerals which precede and follow it as much form a compound as do the words which give the number they express in modern English :-- Hé wæs áne-wana-xxx-wintre (xxix wintra

ge-hergian

(v.)
Entry preview:

and gehýnde eahtatýne geár under heora handa afflicti sunt et oppressi per annos decem et octo Jud. 10, 8. to make captive in war, carry off as spoil Seó fird gehergade swíðe micel on þǽm norðhere ǽgðer ge on mannum ge on gehwelces cynnes yrfe the English